Our family

Our family has made wine for four generations. Nikolai Batovich Achba’s work was carried forward by his son Vladimir, his grandson Nikolai and the next generation. Our winery in Labra, Achba Iashta, continues that story.

Vladimir Nikolaevich Achba seated with his son Nikolai Vladimirovich; a portrait of Nikolai Batovich hangs above them. 2007
Vladimir Nikolaevich with his son Nikolai, beneath a portrait of Nikolai Batovich. 2007. Russkaya Vodka magazine archive. Editorial restoration.
  1. Nikolai Batovich Achba holding a bottle of wine at a table
    Nikolai Batovich Achba. A restored photograph from the family archive

    I · The beginning

    Nikolai Batovich Achba

    Our family’s professional life in wine began with Nikolai Batovich. As Abkhazia’s chief winemaker, he helped create Psou, Lykhny and Apsny.

    His son Vladimir worked alongside him. Winemaking became a family craft, learned through shared work and passed from father to son.

  2. II · Carrying the work forward

    Vladimir Nikolaevich Achba

    Vladimir Nikolaevich followed his father into winemaking. After working in Gudauta and Sukhum, he became director of Abkhazvinkombinat in 1974. He led the enterprise, later known as Abkhazvino, until 1999.

    His years there brought new equipment and improvements to production. His son, Nikolai Vladimirovich, was the next to enter the profession.

Our winery in Labra

For Nikolai Vladimirovich, establishing a winery in Labra opened a new chapter in the family business. Here we grow our grapes and make Labra wines, from tending our own vineyards to bottling at the winery.

Today, generations of the family work together here. We share responsibility for the wine that carries our name and for the place where we welcome our guests.

Rows of vines among the green hills at Labra
The vineyards at Labra, where our family’s story continues

The people behind our wine

Several generations of our family work together at Achba Iashta today.

  • Founder

    Nikolai Vladimirovich Achba

    Nikolai Batovich’s grandson and Vladimir Nikolaevich’s son, a third-generation winemaker. Summer work at the winery as a teenager led to specialist studies and a career as an engineer-technologist.

    He became director of Wines and Waters of Abkhazia in 1999 and helped rebuild production. He founded Achba Iashta to continue the family business in Labra.

  • Director

    Batal Achba

    Batal directs Achba Iashta in Labra, managing the day-to-day work of the winery and its team.

  • Head winemaker

    Said Achba

    Said carries forward the family’s winemaking knowledge. His experience includes work at the Sukhum winery, production technology and an interest in Abkhaz grape varieties. He leads winemaking at Achba Iashta.

  • Winemaker

    Leonid Achba

    Nikolai Vladimirovich’s son represents the fourth generation. A winemaker at Achba Iashta, he shares his experience at industry events and introduces visitors to the vineyards, production and family history.

  • Winemaker

    Aslan Achba

    Aslan began with practical work in the family vineyards at Labra: pruning, tending vines and maintaining the rows. He studied fermentation technology and winemaking at Don State Technical University. Today he works as a winemaker at Achba Iashta.

Archive and further reading

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